The Grist Mill Inn
The Grist Mill Inn is located about 280 miles south of Salt Lake City in Monticello, Utah. It is situated just off of the infamous highway 666 which is believed to be haunted by many different ghosts. The inn is currently owned by Glen and Phyllis Swank and the original building was built in 1933. It originally served as a working flour mill that was called the Monticello Flour Mill. At its height, it produced all the flour that was sold by the U.S. to the Navajo nation. The mill was forced to shut down after an accident that took the life of a young boy scout.
The mill laid dormant until 1985, when the current owners bought the mill and turned it into a beautiful bed and breakfast. The seven bedrooms it contains are designed to make the guest feel as if they are staying back in time. There are many ghosts who call the inn their home. People who have eaten in the mill’s breakfast room have reported seeing the ghost of an old man walking between the bagging machine and the back door. In the lobby, the ghost of the young boy scout is seen playing with a ball near the elevator.
The ghost is known to peek around corners at visitors and hide in the stairways. He is also seen in the kitchen whenever chocolate chip cookies are being baked. There is a dark presence that haunts the Corbin room and has scared countless guests. This dark apparition stands over the bed and walks in and out of the room, sometimes slamming the door behind him. The Nielsen room is also haunted by the spirit of an old man who sits on the bed and stares out the window. EVP’s have been recorded in the Grist Mill Inn often, and there is a famous photograph during an investigation that reveals an apparition staring out the window at the photographer.
(Source: Belanger, Jeff. Encyclopedia of Haunted Places. 2005.)
The Grist Mill Inn is no longer owned by the Swanks. It has since switched owners a couple of times. It is currently for sale again. The photographer is Kelly Flynn who, at the time the photo was taken in October of 2003, was in the Utah Ghost Hunter’s Society. She is now the case manager for the Utah Researchers of Paranormal Activity at http://www.uropa.org.